Bettinardi 25th Anniversary BB43 Limited-Edition Putter Review

Bettinardi BB43 Limited-Edition Putter

In 2023, Bettinardi is celebrating a quarter-century of making putters. Robert J. Bettinardi was making putters before 1998 but that was the year he set off to open his own shop.

To celebrate this milestone, Bettinardi Golf is releasing a different limited-edition putter each month to showcase their designs from the past 25 years.

Since this is the seventh month of the calendar year, the Bettinardi 25th Anniversary BB43 limited-edition putter represents the seventh putter in the series. This one takes us back almost to the beginning of Bettinardi Golf.

While there was a BB43 in Bettinardi’s 2014 putter line, this BB43 is really more about the one made in the year 2000.

Back when we thought all of our computers were going to crash, Bettinardi rolled out the original Millennium Series putters. The circa-2000 Millenium series putters featured milled stainless steel construction, brass face plugs and Bettinardi’s honeycomb face milling. Take that, Y2K!

I told you this putter was a throwback. How many of those elements are in this BB43? 

Twenty-Five Years is A Long Time

What were you doing in 1998? Were you in college, maybe starting your career or were you wondering why a yellow and gray monkey was wearing bright red boots?

If you were Bob Bettinardi, you were venturing out on your own to make putters.

Two and a half decades later, Bettinardi Golf is still going strong. In that same span of time, many putter companies have come and gone but Bettinardi continues to be a leader in the milled putter market. He’s now able to pass his successful company along to his son Sam.

If you want to dive deeper into Bettinardi’s history, check out this article by our golf historian John Barba. Trust Barba to make history less mysterious.

Specifications: Bettinardi XXV Limited-Edition BB43 Putter

The Bettinardi XXV Limited-Edition BB43’s Signature Brass Plugs 

Just like restaurants have signature dishes, putter makers have signature design features. Bettinardi has come up with quite a few of these “bloomin’ onion” innovations in his 25 years.

When you see certain elements in a putter, you know it’s a Bettinardi. 

Brass or copper plugs in the putter are one of these elements. The original Millennium Series putters that this BB43 is celebrating had them. Bettinardi’s birthday/caliber series putters had them as well. That 50 Cal is a sweet stick.

Do the brass plugs do anything or just look cool?

Brass weighs about eight percent more per unit volume than stainless steel. By replacing the steel with brass, Bettinardi has changed the weight distribution in the putter head. The 15 brass plugs make the putter a little heavier at the base. The brass bumper inserts push a little more mass toward the heel and toe of the putter.

Is there enough mass change to really alter how the putter feels and plays? I’m not sure. The addition of the brass definitely repositions the weight but I don’t have a plug-free head to be able to see how the feel was influenced by the change.

Regardless, the addition of the brass plugs makes the face look way more interesting than a plain steel face.

The Bettinardi BB43 Design

The Bettinardi XXV Limited-Edition BB43 is a classic Bettinardi design. Obviously, the design started with PING’s classic Anser structure. From there, Mr. Bettinardi took the BB43 in some interesting directions.

First, you’ll notice that the top line of the putter is not flat. Both the heel and toe ends slope up. What is the purpose? Essentially, it is one of address optics.

The high toe helps the golfer properly sole the putter at address. Yes, I know that is a highly situational statement as different golfers sole the putter with the toe, center or heel. Let’s just go with someone who has an average lie angle.

With the center shaft, you are likely standing a little closer to the ball at address to get your eyes over the ball. The high heel and toe help the putter to look “right” behind the ball at address. This prevents the player from unintentionally compensating by raising or lowering their hands.

Final Thoughts on the Bettinardi XXV Limited-Edition BB43 Putter

Undoubtedly, Bettinardi collectors will scoop up the Bettinardi XXV Limited-Edition BB43 as Step 7 of 12 toward completing the set. If I had the means, I’d likely do that. This is especially true if I had the cool rack Bettinardi made to hold all dozen putters. Then I could use a different putter every month.

(My foursome thinks I already do that anyway …)

I hope collectors don’t get them all, though, because I want some of our center-shafted aficionados to grab these as well. Yes, the price tag is steep but when was the last time you saw a limited-edition putter that was center-shafted? When do you think you will see another center-shafted limited-edition putter?

With the brass plugs, RJB initials and iconic honeycomb face milling, there is no question who made this putter. In the putter game, there are only a few putter makers whose work is immediately recognizable. Bob Bettinardi is one of those select few, for sure.

Find out more about the Bettinardi XXV Limited-Edition BB43 and the rest of the XXV Anniversary series at Bettinardi.com

FAQ: Bettinardi 25th Anniversary Putter Line

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